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´óÏó´«Ã½ BLOGS - Chris Jardine

Archives for November 2010

Small clubs are unjustly hit by referees' strike

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Chris Jardine | 16:20 UK time, Thursday, 25 November 2010

I'm sure supporters of every club in Scotland are wondering whether they are going to see their team in action this weekend.

It's been absolutely freezing down our way for the last couple of days and normally that would be our only worry in getting the game on this weekend. Unfortunately, the weather is the least of our concerns because .

Like a lot of people I'm absolutely stunned at how far this matter has come since last month.

For me, McDonald got the decision correct in the end but obviously the way it happened was regrettable. As for what happened afterwards, only McDonald will truly know why that came about.

The row continues to rumble on and we're at the stage now where we still don't know if we'll have football in our countries top division 48 hours before matches are due to kick off.

Now, we will all have our own thoughts about who's to blame but I really don't think it's anything to do with Annan Athletic.

I'm obviously using my club as an example but the same can be said for Threave Rovers and Beith along with many other clubs who stand to lose out financially.

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Underdogs Annan prepare for Scottish Cup test

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Chris Jardine | 14:35 UK time, Thursday, 18 November 2010

Everyone was a bit stunned . After being 2-0 up and seemingly on course to pick up a massive three points, we let our lead slip as Michael Moore made all the difference when he set up the first and scored the equaliser after coming on as a second-half substitute.

Credit goes to , who changed their formation and went for broke in an attempt to salvage something from the game. It worked for them as they scored two late goals but that was a game where we could quite easily have been out of sight.

I think every Annan fan who has watched us on a regular basis would probably agree that was one of our best performances of the season so far. I felt we dominated the game for long spells and after going 2-0 up early in the second half we soaked up a bit of pressure whilst always looking dangerous on the break.

If our final ball and composure had been just a little bit better we could have gone on to score three, maybe four goals. We all know how it turned out and it was a definite two points dropped for us.

However, in saying that, we would have taken a point before the game started.

Stranraer have been on fire of late, and the way they came back to snatch a draw shows you what a good squad and spirit they must have within their ranks.

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Room for improvement after Annan wake-up call

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Chris Jardine | 15:01 UK time, Wednesday, 10 November 2010

A draw and defeat in our last two league matches has brought us right back down to earth after our recent Scottish Cup win.

If ever we needed a wake up call then surely Saturday's defeat at Elgin has provided us with it. It wasn't just the defeat that was hard to take, but the performance was much worse.

After stepping off our team coach at the end of a six-hour journey (no excuse) we found ourselves 2-0 down inside the first 11 minutes.

Looking back we were probably lucky to get away with only a because on the day there was certainly more than that between the sides. I was very impressed with Elgin on their earlier visit to our place this season and Saturday did nothing to change my opinion.

They were better than us in every department from start to finish and although I was disappointed to be substituted after an hour it wasn't at all pleasant to play in.

Elgin were strong enough at the back to limit us to one shot on target during the whole game, but it was especially middle to front where they impressed most of all. They have got some right good players in their team and Saturday seemed to be a day when they all clicked in to gear.

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The long wait for a Scottish Cup victory is over

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Chris Jardine | 09:26 UK time, Thursday, 4 November 2010

Well at long, long last, Annan Athletic have finally managed to win a Scottish Cup match in my many years at the club.

The last time we were victorious was back in 1998 when the club defeated Vale of Leithen 3-1 to set up a third round tie against Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Let's hope our next game against Brechin City is a little bit closer than that one was.

I had just started training with Annan before their trip to the Highlands and I remember keeping up to date with the game on ceefax. I was jumping up and down at my girlfriend's house when Norman Montgomery scored to put us 1-0 up very early in the game.

I was hoping that I could manage to get myself fit in time to play in the fourth round. Unfortunately, the final score was 8-1 to Caley Thistle and that was that!

I'd love to stay in the team and play some part this time around.

Saturday's replay was my first start since our defeat to Partick Thistle over three months ago and although I wasn't entirely happy with my own performance, it was simply about getting through the replay and getting the team in to that third round.

It felt good to play a real part in an important victory again. I might only have been in the team because Kevin Neilson missed out and with the big man possibly being back for our trip to Elgin this weekend it may have been for one game only.

I hope not and can only keep my fingers crossed I've done enough to keep my place.

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